S. Korea tests advanced air-launched missile

In this photo provided by the South Korea Defense Ministry, a Taurus missile released from a South Korean Air Force F-15K fighter jet flies during a drill off the country’s western coast on Wednesday.

10:30 pm, September 13, 2017

The Associated Press SEOUL (AP) — South Korea said Wednesday it conducted its first live-fire drill for an advanced air-launched cruise missile it says will strengthen its preemptive strike capability against North Korea in the event of crisis.

South Korea’s military said the Taurus missile fired from an F-15 fighter jet traveled through obstacles at low altitudes before hitting a target off the country’s western coast.

The missile, manufactured by Germany’s Taurus Systems, has a maximum range of 500 kilometers and is equipped with stealth characteristics that will allow it to avoid radar detection before hitting North Korean targets, according to Seoul’s Defense Ministry.

South Korea has been accelerating efforts to ramp up its military capabilities in the face of a torrent of nuclear weapons tests by North Korea, which on Sept. 3 conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test to date.

Shortly after the nuke test, Seoul announced it reached an agreement with Washington to remove the warhead weight limits on South Korean ballistic missiles, which under a bilateral guideline could be built for a maximum range of 800 kilometers.

A preemptive strike against Pyong-yang’s leadership would be difficult to undertake, but it’s widely seen as the most realistic of the limited military options Seoul has to deny a nuclear attack.Speech